Filipino food scholar Bel Castro tells the oft-repeated story about a mythic era in the late 19th century in which wealth abounded for Philippine coffee growers thanks to lags in the world market. She debunks and complicates this myth with a political and post-colonial analysis that has relevance for all commodity tales today. "[The] history of coffee in the Philippines … is told as a fairytale of great golden days, that if you work hard and if we do our job right and we can go back to it when actually it should be a cautionary tale." -- Ox Tales is produced by Anna Sigrithur, edited by Naomi Duguid and Fiona Sinclair and mixed by Thomas Krause. Music in this episode was by Ava Glendinning, Uuriter, Nitoy Gonzales and his Rondalla  and The American Regimental Band.  Find out more about Ox Tales and the Oxford Food Symposium by visiting our website at https://www.oxfordsymposium.org.uk -- SUPPORT THE PODCAST!  Donate via our website or listeners in the UK can conveniently make a one time donation of any amount by texting OXTALES and the number you'd like to donate, to 70085. (For example, donate 10 pounds by sending OXTALES10 to 70085). And don't forget to rate and review us on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen!